ABSTRACT
Solution-focused therapy by its very name implies that solutions, not problems, are the focus of the work that is done in treatment (e.g., Berg, 1994; O'Hanlon and Weiner-Davis, 1989). The main assumption of the model is that clients possess the strengths and capacities that are needed to solve the problems that plague them. The task of the therapist is to identify strengths and amplify them so that clients can apply these solutions. To this end, therapists assist clients in identifying "exceptions," times when the problem is either not a problem, or it is lessened in intensity or frequency (O'Hanlon and Weiner-Davis, 1989). The assumption is that the construction of solutions from exceptions is easier and more successful than stopping or changing existing problem behavior.
